GEOL 417/517—GIS Database Development
Spring 2009=
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Instructor:= |
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Maribeth H Price |
MI-305 |
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Office Hours &n= bsp; |
TBA |
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Phone: 394-1290 |
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email: Maribeth.Price@mines.sdsmt.edu |
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Course Sche= dule: |
Class:
Thursday |
Intended for:=
Those with previous experience using ArcGIS to view, m= ap, and analyze data. This = class will go beyond the basics to study the construction and management of GIS data.
Course
Objectives:
1) To te= ach development, management, and analysis of GIS data sets
2) To te= ach students the fundamentals of using ArcGIS geodatabases
3) To te= ach students how to use the software documentation to add to their knowledge and learn new techniques on their own
4) To gi= ve students practice in conducting a date compilation project, including defin= ing the database, writing a research proposal, and presenting the results in written and oral form.
REQUIRED:
Modeling our World, Mich=
ael
Zeiler, ESRI Press, ISB=
N 1-879102-62-5
Mastering ArcGIS, Maribeth Price, McGraw-Hill, 3rd ed. 20=
07.
(required text for Geol 416/516)
The following additional books are available free of charge on the campus fileserver as electronic copies. If you prefer using hard cop= y, you may wish to purchase them. You may make one copy of the digital books from the fileserver on a CD <= b>for your own personal use while you are a student at SDSM&T. Any other use or distribution is a violation of civil and criminal law.
RECOMMENDED:
Editing in ArcMap, Shan=
er and
Writesell, ESRI Press, ISBN
1-879102-97-8
OPTIONAL:
Using ArcMap, Minami, Sakala, and Writesell, ESRI Press ISBN 1-879102-69-2 list $49.95
Building a Geodatabase, MacDonald, ESRI Press, ISBN 1-879102-99-4
About=
this
class
This course is structured more like a graduate level
course rather than an undergraduate class.=
I will spend little time lecturing.=
Instead, you will use the software documentation and other resources=
to
learn about new GIS skills, and then practice them on lab exercises and a m=
ajor
database project. At the end =
of
this course you will not only know more GIS skills, but you will have learn=
ed
how to teach yourself what you need to know about GIS in the future.
Using D2L
In this course we will use D2L, an online course conte= nt module, to facilitate much of the daily course activity. The login page for D2L can be found under QuickLinks on the www.sdsmt.ed= u web site. By registering for the course, you should automatically be placed in the D2L roster. If this is your first = time using D2L, the Quick Links page will help you determine your login and password.
The complete =
syllabus
with important information is found inside D2L. Please review it carefully, as it
contains important information on the course content, grading, and policies=
.
One goal of this course is to accustom you to learni=
ng
independently—an important skill for software users. The weekly readings thus form a cr=
itical
part of this class. Your lab =
exercises
will go much more smoothly and quickly if you do the assigned reading before
attempting the lab. The quizz=
es are
designed to encourage you to do the reading on time as well as test your
knowledge of the topics.
The reading assignments are listed in the master
schedule in D2L. Each week you
should read the assigned material and complete the quizzes prior to the sta=
rt
of class on Thursday. The qui=
zzes
are available all week and may be taken online at any time. You may use any books or other mat=
erials
during the quizzes, but they are timed so do not expect to be able to look =
up
many answers. You are permitt=
ed two
attempts at each quiz. Between
attempts you can review the quiz questions and your answers before retaking=
the
quiz to improve your score. Y=
our
final score on the quiz will be the average of the first and second
attempts. There is a practice=
quiz
you may take as many times as you wish to accustom yourself to the quiz pro=
cess
before doing a real one.
Each reading quiz is worth 20 points.
Laboratory: In this class the lab classes and assignments are extremely important. Each week a combination lab exercise and problem set (LPS) will be assigned and can be downloaded from D2L. The comp= leted LPS is due the following week at the beginning of lab unless otherwise announced. All LPS assignment= s must be typewritten and uploaded in D2L. &= nbsp; Late assignments are subject to a penalty of 30% at the discretion of the instructor.
Additional data needed for the LPS assignments are loc= ated in I:\gisdata\geol517.
All assignments for this class, both RQs and
LPS’s, can be downloaded from D2L.&n=
bsp;
No printed copies will be handed out.
Each student will design and create a geodatabase as a= class project. Students taking the = course for graduate credit are expected to complete a project of greater magnitude. The GIS Project wi= ll consist of building a GIS database of an area of your choice, with some very specific requirements which are outlined in another document.
You will need to decide on a topic and location for yo= ur database by mid-February and submit a draft proposal outlining the feature classes to be included and how they fulfill the project requirements. Since the project may change significantly as work proceeds, another draft is due in April. A final proposal is required at the completion of the project. Al= l of these must include formal citations of each data set incorporated. For citation formats, see the guid= e in the course content section of D2L.
You = will learn more about each of these requirements as the semester proceeds. As you complete each LPS assignmen= t, you will gain the skills you need to build your project database. Part of the LPS will include worki= ng on your projects and building the layers using the skills you are currently learning, so the database development will be proceeding all semester long. Your database work will= also reinforce the skills you learn in lab.&nbs= p; Keep this in mind, and keep your work on your database current.
Peri= odically you will submit reports on the progress of your project work. Each report must be submitted on T= IME, regardless of whether the work is com= plete or not. Reporting even a = small amount of progress is better than receiving a zero for no report at all.
Plea= se note that these projects must be completed within the time of the semester, and = no Incompletes will be given except under exceptional circumstances. You will be working on your projec= ts concurrently with the labs you are completing. If you encounter difficulty with s= ome aspect of a project, contact Dr. Price immediately for suggestions on how to complete the project
satisfactorily before the end of the semester.
Grading:
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Assignment |
Points |
Number |
Total |
Percent |
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Reading Quizzes |
20 |
12 |
240 |
19% |
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Lab Problem Sets (LPS) |
20 |
12 |
240 |
19% |
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Progress Reports (PR) |
50 |
7 |
350 |
28% |
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Draft Proposals |
20 |
2 |
40 |
3% |
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Final Proposal |
100 |
1 |
100 |
8% |
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Project Grade |
300 |
1 |
300 |
24% |
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Total |
1270 |
100% |
Important Dat=
es:
Feb 12 &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Draft project proposals due
March 19 &n= bsp; Sec= ond draft proposal due
Apr 9 = ; &n= bsp; Final geodatabase proposals due
April 30 &n= bsp; = ; Final project presentations during class. Project summaries due.
May 4 = ; &n= bsp; Final projects due.
Keys to Succe=
ss:
· Make sure you have the prerequisite skills a= nd knowledge for this course. St= udents should be familiar with the Windows operating system and have significant p= rior experience with ArcMap and ArcCatalog.&nbs= p; (Geol 416/516 or equivalent experience)
· Read the documentation extensively to supple= ment the lecture materials and labs. One goal of this class is to accustom you to studying the software and learning techniques on your own.
· Keep pace with the class assignments and projects. This factor is extr= emely important to your success.
· Attend every lab session. Missed labs must be made up on you= r own time with help from your fellow students.
· Complete the class during the semester. No Incompletes will be granted except for reasons of major long-term illne= ss or other extenuating circumstances that severly impact your ability to do school work for two weeks or more. If you don’t have time to take this course, don’t.
You are taking this course for graduate credit, and correspondingly greater effort will be required from you. Your semester project should refle= ct a higher degree of scientific maturity and ability. If you are currently engaged in th= esis research, then I encourage you to choose a GIS project that is related to y= our work.
Honor Policy<= o:p>
You are encouraged to consult each other on the lab exercises, especially if you encounter a problem. However, you should ensure that YOU personally can do each and every problem, and the work you turn in must be = your own. In the case that a stude= nt turns in work that is demonstrably in violation of the policy, the student = will receive a zero for the assignment, and an academic dishonesty report will be filed with the Dean of Students. Multiple or extensive violations will result in greater penalties, u= p to receiving an immediate F for the class.
Policy on Late Work
All lab assignments are due= no later than 9pm on the due date. Late assignments will be accepted but are subject to a 30% penalty.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Work turned in after the grading o= n that assignment is completed may or may not be graded, at the discretion of the instructor—you will still receive the 70% score, provided your work l= ooks reasonable, but will not have the benefit of individual feedback for your answers. The progress reports= are the exception to this policy, they MUST be completed on time to receive cre= dit.
ALL late work must be submi= tted by the last day of classes to receive credit.
Policy on Makeups and Incompletes
I follow the general policy= of the working world, which assumes that you are a responsible adult and can sched= ule your own time and activities in order to meet your responsibilities. Thus I do not take attendance or otherwise check up on you. Conversely, it is your responsibility to ensure so far as you can th= at your life’s vicissitudes do not require additional time or effort from others.
I thus expect you to take responsibility for your own performance, and accept the consequences that y= ou may incur as a result of your decisions and actions. This means that if you are traveli= ng, then turn in your assignments early. If you have a late assignment, through illness or any other reason, = then turn it in as soon as you can and accept the applied penalty. If you miss a quiz due to illness = or the opening day of hunting season, take the zero cheerfully. Please do not ask me to make exceptions, extensions, or make-ups.
I do understand that occasi= onally illness or emergencies can interfere with your plans, and a little room is built into my grading system such that an occasional missed quiz or late assignment is not going to wreck your grade. So just take it in stride and make= sure that the rest of your work is good. That is your best insurance against minor setbacks.
On the other hand, if you have an extended illness or other situati=
on
that seriously interferes with your ability to carry out your school work f=
or a
week or more, please let me know at the earliest opportunity, so I can help=
you
plan a strategy to resolve it.
As a general rule, I do NOT= grant Incompletes. I will consider = it in cases of extended illness or other extenuating circumstances, depending on = how much of the course has been completed, and how responsible you have been in general about meeting class deadlines.&nbs= p; Please note that lack of tim= e management on your part does not constitute an extenuating circumstance.
Electronic Device Policy
Please turn off your cell phone before class starts. N= o text messaging in class. No headphones. If you wish to use a laptop in this clas= s for purposes of note taking ONLY, that’s fine. No web surfing, emailing, or game-playing in class is permitted, and violators will be excused immediate= ly from class for the day. Repeat offenders may be dropped from the course. I’d rather you didn= 217;t come to class at all than come and distract your classmates. No other use of any ot= her electronic/computer media is allowed during class time.
Freedom in Learning Statement
Freedom in learning. Students are responsible for learning the content of any course of study in which they are enrolled. Und= er Board of Regents and University policy, student academic performance shall = be evaluated solely on an academic basis and students should be free to take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in any course of study. Students who believe that an academic evaluation is unrelated to academic standards but is related instead to judgment of their personal opinion or conduct should contact the dean of the college which offers the class to initiate a review of the evaluation.
Students with special needs or requiring special
accommodations should contact the instructor, Dr. Maribeth Price, 394-1290,
and/or the campus
Geol 417/517 Syllabus
Spring 2008 = ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp;